Tomorrow's Feelings
by Slelnea
Summary: Sora begins to questions his feelings for Kairi; did they really belong together? Or were his feelings fleeting? SoraxRiku one-shot.


_**Disclaimer:** I, nor scatterxthexashes own any of the Kingdom Hearts characters. (What a pity.) _

**Author's Note:** This was co-written with scatterxthexashes over the course of three days. It's fifteen pages and nearly 6,000 words long. We hope you enjoy it.

--

Sora was more than content to lie blanketed by warmth under the fierce, blistering sun with a smile. The soothing sound of the swaying ocean waves calmed his thoughts that were previously jumbled and inarticulate, somewhat relieving the aching in his heart. He couldn't quite explain the feelings he was experiencing, nor could he pinpoint exactly what was making him feel the way he did, but he was determined to ultimately figure it out. But for the moment, his research would have to be put off for a little while longer as his deep session of thinking was interrupted by the sound of Wakka's voice.

"Hey, me and Tidus are gonna go to the Secret Place. Wanna go with, ya?"

Sora did his best to ignore the irritating way of speaking in which Wakka asked the question, and decided to tag along for something more fulfilling to do than simply staring off at the expanse of the ocean and thinking about things that he really shouldn't have been.

Sora accepted Wakka's offer, promptly arising. Thankfully for their slight lack of energy, the small cave was conveniently placed adjacent to the beach that Sora had only just been lazing on, and they were soon on their way to their childhood play area.

As a basic way to break the silence, Wakka decided to question the first thing that popped into his excessively tanned head.

"So, how's you and Kairi, ya?"

Sora winced every single time that Wakka said 'ya'. He wouldn't have been exaggerating in the slightest when he said that Wakka used the word after nearly every single thing he spoke. 'Hey, I got some eggs, ya. Dude, these cucumbers are good, ya. Hey, catch, ya!' Sora greatly wanted to smack him, and he was even the easy going type.

"Oh. Well, we're okay," was Sora's noticeably delayed reply. Wakka didn't inquire about the unfathomable look upon his face, even though when someone normally asked Sora about Kairi, the response given was one involving the word 'perfect'.

"Well... that's good, I guess, ya?"

Sora had to resist the urge to slap Wakka upside the head.

Even if he'd wanted to, he wouldn't have had the chance as Tidus ran up from behind him, craning to shout back at the brunette, "Hey, Sora! Race you to the Secret Place!"

Sora continued to walk alongside Wakka, ignoring Tidus's taunts and giving him only a roll of his eyes in response. "So, why are we going there, Wakka?"

"Well, me and Tidus figured that maybe there's a monster in there or something, ya."

"A monster, Wakka? On the Islands?" Sora remarked flatly. He wasn't one for sarcasm, but in this case he decided to make an exception.

"Hey, ya never know, ya!"

Wakka stood in front of Sora, gesturing wildly. Sora wondered if he pushed Wakka off a cliff if he would fly.

Sora didn't feel the need to bother with saying anything more than a simple "Okay, then" before he once again was following behind Tidus and next to Wakka, who would not shut his damn mouth for even a moment. Sadly for Sora's sanity, he wasn't one to let others know about the fact that they were aggravating him. Though, yet again, in the case of Wakka, he just might have had to make an exception.

The vibrant plants concealing the entrance of the Secret Place came into view, and Tidus expertly made his way past them. He was, as always, the first one to enter the cave, practically pushing Sora out of the way, as he and Wakka had managed to approach the opening around the same time as the blonde. Sora was taken aback for a moment as Tidus caused him to nearly lose his balance. Despite nearly falling face first atop the ground, he was pleased to find that Wakka had finally stopped talking. Sora hoped he really didn't believe that monsters were inhabiting the Secret Place. He was considered one of the more childish ones of their circle of friends, but at least he didn't believe in monsters. He sniggered at the thought. _Monsters_.

"Sora!"

He turned his head to see a silver-haired boy waving vigorously at him. Sora let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. Hey, Wakka, I'll catch you later, okay? Good luck with the... monster."

He chuckled, shaking his head as he walked away.

Sora waved back to Riku just as fervently as he jogged slowly over to him.

As Sora neared closer to his friend, he gradually opened his arms in anticipation of an embrace. He grinned as he practically tackled Riku to the ground, hugging him close to himself and keeping a firm hold on his sides. He didn't let his grasp on the elder loosen, even as he had him unintentionally pinned down.

"Sora, I saw you like, two hours ago..." Riku commented, with a breathy laugh. He wasn't going to voice the fact that it was becoming slightly hard to breathe, because it really wasn't often enough that he was this close to Sora. He didn't want to be the one to ruin one of the rare moments of affection they were sharing, because evidently, that was Sora's job.

Sora's grin remained in place as he lie on top of Riku. As usual he was completely oblivious to the blush his best friend was sporting.

"So." Sora made no move whatsoever to arise, to both Riku's surprise and delight. "What's up?"

"You." Riku playfully pushed Sora off of him, sending Sora flying nearly five feet in the air before he landed oh so gracefully on his glutes. Witnesses might have said that Sora yelped when Riku did this, but Sora claimed otherwise.

"Hey! What was that for?" Sora stood up, brushing himself off, and grinning despite what had happened.

"You asked me what's up... I figured I'd give you a visual answer." Riku flipped his hair, his face red from laughing at Sora's supposedly "nonexistent" screaming.

Sora pouted, his eyebrows nearly joining together as his arms crossed. "Stop laughing at me."

Riku always knew when Sora was being serious and when he was joking, but this time he couldn't quite tell. Deciding to play it safe, he approached Sora and this time it was he who opened his arms.

"I'm sorry," he apologized genuinely, though with a visible smirk. Sora only rolled his eyes before his smile returned, hugging his friend again, this time without forcing him to the ground.

However their moment was ruined by a quick, but high-pitched giggle.

Sora's head whipped around, arms still around Riku, when he heard the sound and his eyebrows furrowed. As if Wakka wasn't bad enough; this was way worse. He didn't honestly know what to do now.

"Aww, you guys are so cute. If only I had my camera with me." She walked towards the pair, holding her arms out expectantly to Sora.

It couldn't have been a good thing if every time your girlfriend wanted a hug, it filled you with dread, Sora thought.

"H-hey, Kairi." He reluctantly let go of Riku, his mood change somehow not noticeable to the red-haired girl.

Riku only smiled awkwardly in their direction as Sora and Kairi exchanged an embrace. Sora inwardly sighed as Kairi held tight to him, even as he made an attempt to edge away from her. She never did get the hint that he wasn't into affectionate acts... at least with her recently.

"Where've you been lately? If I didn't know better I'd say you were avoiding me." She spoke with a slight hint of a laugh near the end of her sentence, as if the idea was irrational.

Sora chuckled insincerely. As always, Kairi didn't seem to notice. She never really noticed anything anymore. He bet that if he dyed his hair neon blue that she wouldn't even notice. No wonder he had been having doubts lately.

"Heh, you know I'd never do that." Sora picked this as the perfect opportunity to let go of her, scratching the back of his head in his trademark style.

"Good. I don't know what I'd do without you, you lazy bum." She pushed him playfully, causing him to nearly fall over again. What was it with everyone and pushing him around these days? He wished he had never asked Kairi out that fateful night. He was now realizing it was a mistake.

Riku snuck up beside Sora and wrapped his arm around him, knowing Kairi wouldn't mind or get the wrong idea. Which was truly the right idea, but no one would ever know about that. For the time being, at least.

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd do without you either, Sora."

Kairi grinned at the confession, while Sora had to do his best not to blush. Especially with the way that Riku was holding him. He had never felt that way with Kairi.

"He's our wittle Sorrraaa, isn't that riiighttt?" Riku squeezed Sora tighter, teasingly rocking him side to side in his arms.

Sora turned a deep shade of red. What had been with Riku lately? He wondered if maybe... Nah, that couldn't be it. Who knew why Riku did what he did.

Riku did cease the motion, but he kept his grip on Sora firm and in place. He felt himself practically melt into Riku's chest, but he knew he couldn't let it show how much he was enjoying the position they were in because of who was standing mere feet away from him. So instead he only pretended to struggle, pathetically, and for once he was glad that Riku was as strong as he was.

Kairi let out one final giggle, along with a cheerful smile. "As cute as this scene is to watch, I've got to get going. Selphie and I made plans. But I'll catch you later, right, Sora? We can do something."

Riku waved enthusiastically as Kairi skipped off, leaving Sora with his mouth hanging halfway open. He was glad that Kairi left before he did something stupid, like telling her that he really wasn't up to hanging out with her. He never seemed to be these days.

"Seems it's just you and me now, huh? Whatcha wanna do?" Riku asked immediately after Kairi had escaped from their line of sight.

For some reason that Sora couldn't fathom, Riku still didn't let go of him, and if anything, his grip seemed to grow more gentle, but tighter. More...affectionate.

"Well, I don't know... We could go see that 'monster' Wakka and Tidus were going on about?" Sora shrugged, which was easier said than done when in someone else's arms.

"Monster...?" Riku laughed. "Those two, always coming up with something wild. Sure, why not?" He let go to Sora so that they would be able to walk properly, to his dismay.

Sora turned around, looking at Riku. He was standing there, giving Sora a look that he didn't exactly know how he felt about.

"Riku, what are you looking at?" Sora laughed, scratching the back of his head again.

"Oh, nothing too special... Just my best friend." He smacked Sora on the shoulder in what he hoped to be a playful way and ran ahead to the Secret Place.

"Ow... Hey... Wait up!" Sora ran to catch up, now more confused than ever.

The pair walked alongside each other into the Secret Place, the narrow walls not giving them much space to walk freely. Their arms repeatedly brushed as they moved forward, though neither of them made an attempt to shift ahead of the other. Truthfully, they didn't exactly mind.

They looked to each other as they neared closer to the center of the cave, their expressions questioning. If this was what Tidus and Wakka had heard to assume there was a monster in there, they must have major hearing issues as it didn't sound one thing like a 'monster'.

And then the source of the sounds came into view, and Sora realized that he was way off. The noises were coming from none other than Wakka himself, with a very tousled Tidus cradled in his lap.

Sora and Riku didn't want to interrupt them to avoid intense embarrassment on both ends, and so instead they remained behind the wall separating them somewhat from the other two.

"It looks like they're eating each other's faces off..." Sora commented, though with more of a curious look on his face than one of disgust.

Sora could see Riku's smirk, even in the darkness. "I think they'd be pretty close to doing so if they tried a little harder."

Sora sniggered, but Riku covered Sora's mouth with his hand before it could get any louder than a small squeak of a laugh.

"Shh." Riku placed his index finger against his mouth. "Let's not embarrass them. Come on." Riku took Sora by the hand, practically dragging him out of the cave.

"But..." Sora looked back at the cannibalistic pair. "It's interesting and I don't know why..."

"We'll rent you a porno if you want to see that, now come on." Riku grinned, squeezing Sora's hand.

Sora blushed at the touch, making no attempt to let go, and allowed for himself to be led out of the Secret Place. Once they made it back out into the sunlight, Sora asked, "So what do we do now?"

Riku maintained his grip on Sora's hand even after they'd reached the end of the cave. "We swim."

Sora only shrugged sloppily, having no problem with swimming. The heat of the island was relentless and it was hastily becoming too hot for as many layers of clothing as he and Riku wore, so swimming sounded like the best way to spend the next while.

He let Riku drag him to the shoreline of the ocean, frowning when Riku let go of his hand. Riku grinned at Sora when he noticed this, and lifted his shirt over his head. Sora forgot about the part that they'd have to be shirtless. Suddenly he felt his face grow warm, having no doubt that he was blushing.

He'd seen Riku topless many times before, but that was before he'd realized that maybe he was just a little bit attracted to him.

Riku looked over at Sora. "What are you just standing there for? Have you suddenly come down with some rash that you don't want me to see?" Riku laughed.

"Huh? Oh. Right." Sora fumbled as he attempted to take off his shirt and was failing miserably. His clothing always got caught on his spikes. He was beginning to think he needed a new hairstyle. Dressing and undressing was such a nightmare.

Riku gazed over at him, seeming to enjoy the view of Sora just as much as Sora was enjoying the view of him. Sora turned a deeper shade of red once again. He never felt like this with Kairi. Not even when he had first asked her out -- it had been just a whim, and nothing more. He'd have to tell her. There were no excuses now.

When Sora was ultimately successful in removing his shirt, he smiled sheepishly at Riku and tried as best as he could to hide his face from him. He knew Riku would be curious as to why he was colored the same shade of a tomato, and he couldn't exactly come up with an excuse as to why he was.

Riku gestured for Sora to go in ahead of him, which he wasn't too sure about. Knowing Riku, the moment his feet touched the water he would pounce on him and force him to taste the sand. But then again, maybe that wouldn't have been so bad. The first part of it, at least.

When Sora was making no attempt to move, Riku took the chance to take his hand again and dragged him into the water.

Riku grinned at Sora again; he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately, Sora noticed. He knew Riku was always happy around him, but not this happy. Sora allowed himself once again to be drug along like a rag doll by Riku. He was more than happy to spend time with him like this.

"What is with you today, Sora? You're so quiet." Riku looked at him questioningly as Sora was deep in thought. Little did Riku know that he was what Sora was thinking about. He was almost all he thought about these days, besides how to dump Kairi that is. Sora was sure what he'd come up with in his head would go over great. 'Hey Kairi, I'm dumping you because I like penis.' Yeah, he was sure their relationship would conclude with a happy ending if he told her that.

"Huh? Oh, just thinking." Sora smiled, squeezing Riku's hand, swinging it back and forth.

Riku laughed, ruffling Sora's hair with his free hand, if that was even possible. If water can't mess it up, how could a hand? "Don't pull a muscle, alright?"

Riku pulled on Sora's hand to haul him deeper into the ocean, and only stopped when the water came to rest at their waists, which really wasn't all that far in. He stopped abruptly when he felt Sora come up behind him and didn't allow himself a moment of hesitation as he wrapped his arms protectively around him from behind.

Sora was silent for a moment, trying to figure out why exactly Riku was hugging him again. It seemed as if Riku was taking every possible chance to touch him in some way, and he couldn't for the life of him realize why. He didn't even want to consider the possibility that Riku felt the same way he did, because not only would that be too much of a coincidence, but it simply wasn't ever going to happen. Sora had convinced himself of that long ago.

Sora sighed, mulling over his thoughts once again.

"Sora. Why are you sighing? Coming from you, that can't be good. What's up?" Riku looked down at the spiky-haired boy in his arms with a look of authentic concern.

"...I don't really feel comfortable saying, Riku. Maybe someday I will, but not right now." Sora turned around, still in his arms, and looked up at his best friend.

"Uh oh." Riku's eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh oh?" Sora's left eyebrow arched, confused.

"You're being cryptic too. Okay, out with it. You know you can tell me," Riku urged. "Be the happy Sora I know you are. The blabbermouth."

Sora laughed. "Riku..."

"Come on, Sora. You know you can tell me anything," Riku prompted, lifting Sora's chin so that their eyes could connect properly.

"Well..." Sora began, tentative. He wasn't sure if he should tell Riku about his feelings for him or not. What if he'd been taking his actions the wrong way? Maybe Riku was just showing a different side of himself that didn't involve liking Sora as more than just a best friend. What if he spilled everything, and Riku was revolted? He didn't know what to do, and it was incredibly frustrating.

But then, because of a rather boisterous yell, he could put off his declaration for a while longer.

They looked behind them to see Wakka -- whose hair was clearly mussed for a very obvious reason. He waved to them excitedly as he shouted, "WHAT'S HAPPENIN', YA?!"

Sora winced at the pitch of Wakka's voice.

Riku turned his head to see Wakka, seemingly feeling the same as Sora. "Sora," Riku whispered and smirked knowingly. "Lookit Wakka's hair."

Sora shared Riku's smirked as he reluctantly removed himself from Riku's embrace. Riku seemed to have frowned momentarily when Sora did so, but maybe he was just seeing things.

"Hey, Wakka. Nice hair," Riku yelled over to him, watching amusedly as his expression turned to confusion.

"Huh? Oh... oh, ya!" Wakka flushed in embarrassment. "Nevermind that!" He scratched the back of his head, stealing Sora's trademark. "So, what's up, ya?"

"How were the monsters, Wakka?" Sora barely got the sentence out without laughing.

Wakka flushed even more so. "Uh. Nothing there, ya. Just me and Tidus... we hung out, ya." He began crossing and uncrossing his arms nervously. Riku and Sora shared knowing smiles when he wasn't looking.

They waded closer to Wakka so that they didn't have to quite yell to talk to him. As they neared the island, they had to hold back their laughter as they saw Tidus emerge from somewhere behind him, in much the same state as the other.

Riku decided to mess with them a little; doing so seemed to be an enjoyable pastime of his.

"So, tell me, guys," he began as he and Sora reached the sand. "What's with the dishevelled hair and messy clothes? I'm sure they didn't get like that on their own, am I right?"

Tidus blushed a violent shade of crimson, and while Wakka may have as well, it wasn't visible due to his skin color.

"Well... you guys are no better, ya! I saw what you were doing out there!" Wakka defended. He wasn't surprised to see both Sora and Riku's faces deepen in color and mirror Tidus's.

"No better? I never claimed you did anything with each other." Riku grinned mischievously. He was obviously enjoying himself.

Tidus and Wakka looked at each other; Tidus as red as a strawberry. "Well... So what?!" Wakka practically yelled. He was getting defensive. "Tidus and I are an item now, got a problem with that, ya?!"

"As a matter of fact..." Riku took in some air, making himself look taller than he really was. "I don't." He smirked, wrapping an arm around Sora. Sora looked at Riku full of wonder. Maybe he really does feel the same way, he thought. He seemed so confident...

Tidus grinned, hugging Wakka closer to himself. "I guess that's why."

It took Sora a moment to figure out what Tidus meant, but when he did his face grew at least two shades darker. He couldn't believe how much he was blushing that day -- probably more than he ever had in his lifetime.

Riku laughed, shrugging one shoulder. "Maybe."

Tidus smiled, glad to see that Riku was finally making moves on Sora. He was getting tired of seeing the lustful looks they shared while they took no action. Maybe now something would actually happen between them.

"Well," said Tidus, "Wakka and I will be going, to... y'know, so uh... have fun, you guys."

He took hold of Wakka's hand and pulled him in another direction, leaving Sora absolutely confused and Riku with more confidence than ever. They watched as the two walked off hand in hand with smiles. They both respected the fact that Wakka and Tidus could be open with their relationship, especially so quickly after getting together, and not care about having others see and judge them.

Riku turned to look over his shoulder behind him, eyeing the sky streaked with red and orange. "So... you want to watch the sunset?"

"Sure," Sora smiled, Riku's arm still around him. He almost didn't want to sit down though; it would mean Riku wouldn't be as close. Thankfully, Riku took care of that dilemma.

"Hey." Riku pulled his arm from around Sora, sitting down. "Sit." He grabbed Sora's hand, pulling him down next to him, and wrapped his arm around his waist.

"Riku..." Sora was in shock; he didn't really know how to react. Everything seemed to be going his way. Maybe, just maybe, Riku really did feel the same way. Sora desperately hoped that he did. He'd be devastated if this was just brotherly love -- who knew with Riku. Sora just knew he didn't want this moment to end. He snuggled up closer, taking advantage of the situation. His face felt hot, and he hoped it wasn't too red. Maybe Riku would just think it was the reflection of the sunset.

Riku looked down at Sora, smiling to himself at the sight of him. He'd hoped to eventually get the chance to do this sort of thing with him, but sadly he never could. He didn't want to give off the wrong impression or anything, and so he was glad to see that he apparently hadn't. Though he didn't even think about how Sora seemed equally as eager to be close to Riku as he tried to be with Sora. He was too preoccupied with trying to stop his heart from beating as fast as it was to think properly.

"You know..." Riku spoke, interrupting the welcomed silence that was occupied by nothing but the sound of the waves. "This is nice."

Sora smiled into Riku's neck, nodding weakly against it. "Yeah... It really is."

Sora still couldn't believe this was happening. He felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He knew now what he wanted... this. He wanted _this_. He wanted Riku, and he wanted to feel this perfection every other moment of his life.

Riku pulled Sora closer, nuzzling him, almost. "Sora...?"

He turned to gaze at him, blue eyes meeting grey.

"Yeah, Riku?" Sora gazed back, silently praying to some entity that his face wasn't a cherry.

"Are you happy?" Riku sighed, staring out at the water now. He couldn't bare to look into those eyes. They never failed to make him melt, and then he'd end up ruining everything.

"Huh?" Sora blinked, his interest increasing. "What do you mean...?"

Riku smiled faintly out at the ocean, slowly inhaling the fresh scent. "I mean exactly what I asked," he elaborated, still keeping his eyes averted from Sora. "Are you happy?"

Sora stared up at Riku, his thoughts disorderly. What exactly was he getting at?

"I... I don't really know anymore."

Riku's interest was significantly intrigued -- Sora being unhappy could really only mean one thing. He figured he should make sure of it before trying anything more.

"Why?" he questioned, affectionately pulling Sora closer.

"Well..." Sora stared at the water, not knowing exactly how to word things. "I think I made a mistake."

"Mistake?" Now it was Riku's turn to be puzzled. Surely Sora couldn't mean...

"Yeah, a mistake." Sora looked at Riku, not saying anything else. Maybe he was hoping that Riku would get the hint. After all, Sora was the dense one in this friendship.

Riku stared back at Sora, hoping that he understood him correctly. If not, he was about to look like quite the idiot.

He sighed, quickly directing his gaze at the water, again. "...I think you did too."

Sora stared at Riku, watching him as he watched the waves crash and recede. He was lovely in the pale light of dusk; the sun slowly setting. "Riku?"

"Yeah?" Riku gazed back at Sora, their eyes meeting again.

"Nevermind..." He just couldn't find the nerve to tell him. What if he messed things up? Maybe he was wrong... he really never did know with Riku. Sora's mind was in a conundrum.

Riku shook his head, this time keeping his eyes fixed on Sora rather than turning to the water again. "No, tell me. We went through this already today, Sora. Tell me what's wrong and you'll feel better."

Truth be told, Riku was really only trying this hard to get Sora to tell him what was making him act the way he was because he now knew there was a slight possibility that Sora felt the same way for him as he did for Sora. And he wanted that to happen more than anything.

Sora sighed. He was still completely unsure how to word it. He knew how he felt; there was no doubt in his mind about that. But how to say it?

"Riku..." Sora took Riku's hand in his, entwining their fingers together, looking him in the eye. "This. _This._ "

Riku smiled softly at Sora, squeezing his hand. "This, huh?"

"Yeah. This." He leaned closer to Riku; if he was any closer, he'd be in Riku's lap.

Their lips were slowly inching toward each other's; they could feel the other's breath ghosting on their lips more and more the closer they became. Their hearts were rapidly beating faster and their faces felt like they were on fire. They probably looked that way too.

Just as their lips brushed only slightly, Riku nearly toppled over against the sand as he realized that Sora was no longer sitting beside him. He looked up, hurt expression in place, which soon turned to worry as he saw that Sora was turned away from him, emitting deep sighs.

"Sora?" His tone was questioning, confused, hurt. "Why...?"

"I'm sorry... Just... not right now. I'm not ready." Sora slowly started to walk away, leaving behind the one he cared most for. Possibly more than anything, even.

"Sora..." Riku shook his head, picking up a seashell and throwing it at the water. "Alright..."

"I'm sorry..." Sora walked off; he would be no longer in sight of Riku if he had decided to turn around again.

Riku's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "I was so close..." he whispered to the waves, feeling as if they could be the only thing to possibly calm him. He felt as if what had happened was his fault -- that he had done something wrong. But then the other side of him knew that it wasn't him at all. It was Sora.

-

Sora strode as quickly as humanely possible to Kairi's house, hoping to God that she'd be home by now. As he approached her porch he let out the breath he was unaware that he was even holding when he saw that she was sitting there, most likely waiting for someone. He jogged over to her, knowing there wasn't any time to think about what he was about to do because he needed to know how he really felt.

As she noticed Sora coming closer to her, she beamed and arose, opening her arms for a hug. She was shocked when she felt Sora crash their lips together; he hadn't kissed her like that in so long that it was hard to even remember when it was.

"S-Sora..." Kairi mumbled as their lips caressed. She smiled, pulling him tight to her.

Sora pulled back, shaking his head. "It's gone."

Kairi looked at him, dumbfounded. "Gone? What's gone? Sora, what are you talking about?"

"It's over. This... us. We're done. I'm sorry, Kairi, but it was a mistake, and nothing more." He let go of her.

"Sora..." Kairi hugged herself, staring down at the floor. "Just... why?"

Sora shook his head, staring down at the wood of the porch. "I... I don't..." he paused, unable to find the right words to explain why he had to end it this way. "I can't..."

Even after what had just previously happened, Kairi was still civil. "I know why, Sora. Don't worry about it." She smiled weakly at him. "I always kind of knew you loved him, and not me... you two weren't very good at hiding your feelings for each other."

As Sora went to open his mouth again to speak, she shook her head and pointed away from her house, meaning for him to leave and to go find Riku. He realized that this must have been why he loved Kairi so much -- just not in the way he should have.

"Go to him." She smiled, gesturing for him to leave.

"Yeah..." Sora waved as he walked off, slowly working his way up to a jog, and then eventually full on sprinting to the beach, hoping that Riku would still be there. Knowing him, he would be. He always understood somehow. How was it that everyone knew before me, Sora thought. Does everyone know my feelings better than I do...?

It wasn't long before Sora made it back to the beach, most likely since he had refused to stop for even a second along the way. He smiled as he saw that Riku was indeed still there -- though he looked somewhat irritated as he was throwing random objects into the water. Sora wanted to fix that. He wanted to fix everything between them.

Riku was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't even hear Sora walk up behind him. He didn't know he was even there until he felt his arms wrap around him from behind and the feeling of breath against his neck.

"Hey, you miss me?" Sora nuzzled Riku's neck, squeezing him tight.

"Sor--" Riku didn't even get a chance to finish his word, let alone his sentence. Sora's lips interrupted him, but it was an interruption that he'd gladly go through over and over again. He couldn't believe this was happening, finally, things were going his way. He wasn't sure what Sora had done while he was gone, but who cared. He was there now, and that was all that mattered. It took him a moment to realize that Sora was waiting for him to kiss back. Riku smiled against Sora's lips, kissing him back with fire and passionate abandon.

Sora disconnected their lips for a fraction of a second as he moved to sit in Riku's lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. Riku's hands went to rest at Sora's hips, his fingers slipping beneath his shirt slightly. That entire day seemed like it was a dream to both of them; they'd only ever dreamt of such a thing happening with the one now with them. Riku had been silently praying that Sora and Kairi would somehow break up for ages now, and he assumed that now they must have been. He'd come to the conclusion that that must have been why Sora had been hesitant about kissing him at first -- he didn't want to be unfaithful to Kairi in any way. This had only made Riku love Sora more.

"Sora?" Riku murmured against Sora's lips. Sora was more aggressive with his kisses than Riku thought he would be.

"Yeah...?" Sora continued his attacks on Riku's lips that the both of them were more than happy to enjoy, taking a breather every so often. The both of them still in awe that this wasn't a dream.

"This is real, isn't it?" Riku pulled away for a moment, gazing at Sora, smiling as their noses touched.

"Yeah... it's real." Sora moved in again, kissing Riku with passion and desire. The two of them wanted nothing more than this. Nothing could be better. _Nothing._


End file.
